


Honey Tongue

by ThatOneGreyGhost



Category: MCU, Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Also Shuri trolling T'challa cuz siblings, Fluff, Gay Sam Wilson, Lesbian Shuri, M/M, Pan T'challa, Sam has a language kink, Smut, T'challa is a tease, there are no fics about this and it's frustrating
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-28
Updated: 2021-01-28
Packaged: 2021-03-14 01:34:04
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,033
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29038704
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThatOneGreyGhost/pseuds/ThatOneGreyGhost
Summary: Sam has always known he has a language kink, and normally, it's not a problem. Unfortunately for him, T'challa seems to be dead set on turning him on at the worst moments.
Relationships: Samchalla - Relationship, Stucky
Kudos: 33





	Honey Tongue

**Author's Note:**

> So I just discovered this ship, and I love it. But there's like no fics about them, or at least any that focus on T'challa being a punk(Cuz you know he is). so, here.

The worst part was that if Sam had gotten half a minute's heads up it wouldn't have happened. Half a minute of preparation and he would have been able to hide it, been able to control himself. But he hadn't expected this. It didn't matter that they were in the capital city of Wakanda, he hadn't expected for his crush, who just happened to be the king of Wakanda, to suddenly slip into his native language.

To be fair, no one else had expected it either. Steve had been particularly thrown by the transition, but for a different reason. They had been talking about basic ground rules for living in Wakanda(as long as Barnes was here, they were going to have to play nice with their host) and Steve had gone to ask a question when Shuri, who had been in the back of the room, sharply asked something in Xhosa. T'challa had responded in the same language, and Sam had had half a second to realize he was in trouble before his brain meted and he sharply drew his legs together.

That had been five minutes ago. Now, Sam was on the verge of straight up dying at the next word out of T'challa's mouth, and it was getting harder and harder to ignore the growing heat in the pit of his stomach. Steve opened his mouth to ask a question, thought better of it, then turned to Sam to ask a question. A look of curiosity flashed across his face before it morphed into a sly, knowing smile.

"You ok there, Sam?" Steve chuckled as Sam went so red he was sure it showed even with his skin tone.

"Yeah." Sam squeaked. After a few seconds of contemplation, he cleared his throat and tried again. "Yeah, I'm fine".

T'challa observed him, then, very pointedly maintaining eye contact, asked Shuri something in his silky native tongue, and that was the moment Sam couldn't take it anymore.

"Excuse me." He gasped as he stood sharply and rushed from the room. He managed to ignore the tent in his pants until he got back to his room, but the second the door closed he was leaning back against the wall, the flush in his face spreading down as he coaxed himself free.

"Fuck." was all he managed to say before his fantasies took his mind.

Half a minute's heads up. That was all he asked.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next time it happened, Sam actually saw it coming. Still didn't stop him from getting hard as nails, but he saw it coming, and that was better than nothing.

He had been in Shuri's workshop, watching her tinker with the EXO-7 wings, asking her questions about Wakanda and her work and maybe he asked a few innocent questions about T'challa, but that wasn't anybody's business but his.

Sam had been in the middle of an off-hand remark about how Steve was pouting about Barnes like a puppy when he heard the doors slide open. He managed to prepare himself for the onslaught of Xhosa he now equated with T'challa talking to Shuri.

The thing that threw him off was Shuri commenting how T'challa was the exact same with his crushes.

"He freezes up and won't talk to them, and then he has the audacity to get mopey when they don't notice him." Shuri laughed, then turned and said something in Xhosa. T'challa's voice rang out with a laugh, and whatever he said back, he clearly wasn't upset.

Shuri said something else just as the king came into Sam's field of vision, and suddenly his features were hard and his voice was cold and commanding. And holy shit if that wasn't the sexiest thing Sam's heard in a long time, the small growls and sharply pronounced "N"s driving that familiar heat into his face.

Whatever Shuri said next was clearly teasing T'challa, but Sam was more focused on the way T'challa's adam's apple bobbed slowly as he attempted to calm down, his breathing slowly becoming quieter as he glared daggers at Shuri. With a final barked command, he turned on his heel and swiftly exited the lab, Shuri's laughter seeming to chase the clearly embarrassed king. Sam realized, to his chagrin, that his pants were uncomfortably tight, but when he opened his mouth, Shuri pointed at a door in the corner and said "Bathroom's over there. I won't tell him as long as you don't get any on the floor of my lab".

"You- Um, sorry, what?" Sam stared at the princess, trying(and failing) to feign innocence.

"You have a thing for my brother, right? I won't tell him if you don't want me to, I promise." Shuri smiled patiently. "But I mean it about getting your nasty on my lab floor. Go take care of it".

"I don't- How- I-" Sam finally gave up and headed to the bathroom, taking care of his little problem. After he was done, he went back to his spot next to Shuri, his face hot for a very different reason.

"So..." Sam stared at the floor, the flush of his cheeks no longer hid by his dark skin.

"So you like him. Big deal." Shuri rolled her eyes, then turned back to the holographic display of his wings. "It's a natural response, don't worry about it. If I'm being honest, he was the same way with Nakia. Worse, even. By the time he worked up the courage to talk to her, he'd already fallen out a window. Twice".

"You... you don't care?" Sam felt his voice waver, but he was determined not to let it bother him.

"Goodness, no! It's not like you're only after him for his money or his title. You actually like him." Shuri smiled a sly smile. "And, if you do it right, you can get his attention for long enough to get a decent chance at him".

Sam didn't think it was possible for him to blush any harder, but Shuri's statement proved him wrong.

"I... I think I'd like that." Sam said quietly.

"I think you'd be good for him. He's so tight wound, especially since Baba died. He needs a companion." Shuri sobered with that statement, focusing primarily on her work for a moment. Sam nodded, then stopped to think about what Shuri said.

"Are you sure a romantic partner is what he needs right now?"

"I never said romantic partner. You don't date a person right after you met them in America, do you?" Shuri grinned, then frowned. "Do you?"

"Some people do, but I've never seen the appeal." Sam said, staring out the window. He had to think about what he just heard.

As he was leaving the lab, Shuri got his attention with something she said.

"I'm sorry, what?" Sam asked.

"I said, he does it on purpose." Shuri repeated, giving a sly smile. "Just keep that in mind going forward".

Sam wasn't quite sure what she meant by that, but it was clearly important.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Yeah, she thinks she got it." Sam was saying. Steve sniffled quietly on the other end, clearly overwhelmed by the news. "She thinks she can pull him out by... end of next week?"

"Oh, thank God." Steve gave a small chuckle. "I just want him to be ok. I know I'm putting way too much into this-"

"It's a lot for you. It has been from the beginning, you and I both know that, but I want you to take a moment to prepare yourself. I know your automatic response is to grab on and never let go, but you need to be prepared to give him some space. I know that..." Sam cut himself off, taking a moment to prepare himself for what was going to happen if he went forward with his line of thinking. "I know that if Riley came back, I'd be the same way, but you need to give him time to process. It's very likely that he's going to fall apart now that he's safe, and you need to be prepared to take a step back when that happens".

"Isn't it bad if he-"

"Not necessarily. It's often a sign that you're truly safe, in cases of extreme trauma and abuse. It'll look a lot like a regression, but in reality, it's a step forward. It means he's letting himself process. If- When- that happens, you cannot be in his space unless he asks for it. He'll feel particularly vulnerable during those breakdowns, and if you cross his boundaries during that time, he's going to have a hard time trusting you, much less healing properly".

"But you can't speak for the individual." Steve repeated the line with a small laugh, and Sam gave a smile in response.

"Those are the general rules. I can't speak for the individual, but I know consent and respect of boundaries is going to be something incredibly important to him. You cannot betray that, ever. Not if you want him to trust you".

"Ok." Steve was quiet for a long time. "Ok. I want to see him as soon as possible".

"Remember, do not let your feelings dictate what you do. I want you to go into this with as much of a clear head as possible." Sam looked up when Shuri threw a crumpled wad of paper at him, then grinned. "I gotta go. Princess spectacular wants to show me something".

"Bye, Sam".

Sam hung up as Shuri threw another paper wad at him, crinkling her nose the way she did when she was making fun of someone. Sam had gotten that look a lot in the past three weeks.

Three weeks. It had really only been three weeks since Shuri had figured out his crush on her brother and told him how to get in closer. It had been maybe three months since he discovered he even had a crush, and the suspense was killing him. He still had no idea if T'challa even knew he existed, much less liked him.

Thankfully, Shuri was a useful ally. She was showing him some of the improvements she'd made to the EXO-7 wings when T'challa burst into the room, shouting frantically in Xhosa. Sam barely had time to draw his legs together before Shuri gave him a smile that Sam had only ever seen on Steve or Tony. It was the kind of smile that someone gave you when they were going to cause trouble, and wanted you to go along with it.

"What?" Shuri yelled, and T'challa backtracked, yelling in Xhosa before he cut off, confused.

"Why are you speaking English?" T'challa asked as he laid eyes on Sam. Sam gave a small wave as he saw the king's eyes go wide. "Oh. Hello, Sergeant Wilson. I wasn't aware-"

"Oh my- JUST CALL HIM SAM HE'S NOT EVEN SPECIAL!" Shuri barked, rolling her eyes. T'challa looked taken aback, but Sam just rolled his eyes in response.

"Rude. Ain't you supposed to be the princess?" Sam poked Shuri in the side with a pencil, something she had given him permission to do if she were to "render herself annoying".

"What do you mean, 'supposed to be'? I am the princess!" Shuri laughed, crinkling her nose again. "But seriously, this is why I'm not the queen or in charge or anything like that. I suck at diplomacy".

"No more so than I." T'challa gave half a smile, and Sam suddenly felt that he wasn't supposed to hear that, because when T'challa looked at him again, the smile faded to nothing. "Are you comfortable here, Sergeant Wilson?"

"I'd feel more comfortable if you just called me Sam. I haven't been military in quite a few years at this point." Sam waved dismissively. "Samuel works too, if you absolutely got a thing about it".

"If you wish, Samuel." T'challa said softly, and hot damn, Sam was not ready for that. Hearing his crush speak Xhosa was one thing; hearing him say Sam's name the same way he spoke his native tongue, with the words dripping slowly out of his mouth like honey, was another thing entirely.

"Have I made you uncomfortable?" T'challa asked suddenly, and at Sam's sudden shock, he gave a small laugh. "You're blushing".

"I'm- you can see that?" Sam stared, suddenly a thousand times more embarrassed because if it was showing then there was no way he could get out of the awkward questions that would come next.

"I should hope so, it's plain as day. You haven't answered my question." T'challa's voice was patient yet suggesting, pushing Sam towards answering without actually pressuring him.

"I- you reminded me of an old friend, I guess." That was true. The only other person who had called him 'Samuel' unironically was Riley, but that was because Riley liked switching between the two monikers. "I wasn't aware I was blushing that hard".

"You weren't." Shuri teased. At Sam's blank look, she seemed to dawn on awareness. "You're serious. You- you grew up around white people, didn't you?"

Sam nodded, which seemed to be all the answer she needed.

"Remember that we are isolated, and we do not bring others in so quickly. If you spent your whole life surround by people so pale they turn red at the slightest hint of emotion, you wouldn't know how to read expressions on darker skin".

Somewhere along that explanation it clicked for Sam, and he had to restrain himself from smacking his head on the table and groaning. Of course they could see him blush, they were used to it. Of course they could tell he was blushing, they would have grown up with that ability.

"I see." Sam managed, despite wanting nothing more than to curl up and die of embarrassment. T'challa could tell. He could tell when Sam was blushing.

"Are you alright?" T'challa asked, and God, if Sam hadn't been red before, he sure was now. He wasn't sure if the king was aware of it, but he had reached out and touch Sam's shoulder. It was a gentle touch, but Sam was very aware of it, and the concerned king, and he smelled like cinnamon. Of all the things Sam could have noticed, that was the one that really caught him off guard.

"Why do you smell like cinnamon?" Sam gave the king a confused glance, and it was T'challa's turn to look embarrassed. Shuri looked between the two of them, shocked. T'challa started to give an answer, but stopped when Shuri started teasing him in Xhosa, opting to glare at his sister rather than answer Sam.

Sam looked it up later, and apparently, cassia cinnamon was native to parts of East Africa like, wouldn't you know it, the country of Wakanda. Sam wasn't sure what he liked more; that something like cinnamon grew in the country of Wakanda, or that Wakanda's king evidently liked the smell.

When Steve showed up later that week, Sam decided that it would be best to let the issue rest for a while.

Not that that stopped him from smiling when he caught the scent of cinnamon.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Leave me alone!"

The shout came from somewhere down the hall, and even though Sam had no context on the argument, he knew Steve had done something wrong. The sound of a door slamming pulled his attention fully to his door, where he waited for Steve to come for help. Which he did, after about twenty seconds.

"Sam, I fucked up." Steve said, opening the door to find Sam studying the book on his lap.

"I heard. Did you push, or did you stumble?"

"I... think I stumbled?" Steve rubbed the back of his neck. "We were talking about what we should do for dinner, and he said, 'I don't know', and I started suggesting things, and he just snapped at me. And... I kind of snapped back".

"Sounds like he's just overwhelmed. This one's not on you, but you should still apologize for going off on him." Sam put his book down, then turned to Steve. "And I've noticed that when you're stressed, you tend to rely on other people to make decisions for you so you don't have to think. You both need a break. I'll make dinner".

"Sam, you are a blessing." Steve knocked his head against the doorway as he leaned back. "Ow. That hurt".

"Don't go breaking things, this isn't our house." Sam joked, wandering towards the kitchen that connected their guest floor to all their rooms. Steve chuckled, ignoring Sam's corny jokes. Sam continued to try to de-escalate the situation, but he could tell that Steve's mind was elsewhere.

He was halfway through getting Steve to help him with the pizza he was making when T'challa came in, a soft "Samuel" catching his attention.

"Yeah?" Sam turned before he had time to register who it was, heat flooding his face as T'challa tilted his head to the side. "I mean, yes?"

"May I ask for your assistance? My-" T'challa looked down, a sharp blush coloring his face. "My mother wishes to meet you".

"Ok..." Sam followed T'challa out of the room, turning only to give Steve a confused shrug before he left. "I just gotta be back before the dough is finished rising. Pizza is harder than it seems".

"Pizza? I've heard of that." T'challa gave what could pass as a shy smile. "I don't believe I've ever had it before".

"Really?" Sam shot T'challa a questioning look. "Huh. I guess it's not the pinnacle of food. It's cheap junk food, tasty and filling".

"I would like to try it someday." T'challa smiled again, but this smile was private, as if the promise was more to himself than anyone else.

"You wanna join us for dinner? I made extra cuz Steve and Bucky both have black holes for stomachs." Sam laughed, throwing the king a small grin. T'challa made a sound almost like a squeak and then cleared his throat quickly as he attempted to disguise the squeak as a cough, his hand drifting down to a bracelet of wooden beads.

"I think I'd like that." T'challa whispered after a moment of quiet.

"Cool." Sam chirped, allowing himself ten seconds to freak out before the words "It's a date!" slipped out. Sam instantly felt himself go bright red. 'It's a date'? Could you be any more obvious?

T'challa, for his part, had gone very quiet. He eventually muttered something is Xhosa, then turned his face so Sam couldn't see it.

"Sorry, what?" Sam asked, looking for a break in the quiet. The silence was oppressive to the point Sam could feel it stabbing him.

"It-ah- Nothing. It's not important." T'challa didn't even look at him, but Sam caught the smallest quiver in his voice.

"Was it about me?" Sam grinned as T'challa barely caught his flinch, slowing his movements as he whirled, shocked. "It was about me! Tell me".

"It was nothing. I simply-" T'challa flushed again, embarrassed. "I forgot you don't speak Xhosa, and I suppose I got embarrassed".

"Oh." Sam looked down. Of course it hadn't been anything important. T'challa was a literal king, of course he wasn't going to notice someone like Sam.

"That reminds me, actually. Shuri asked me to give you this." T'challa handed Sam a small black earpiece. Sam put it in, and listened as T'challa said, very clearly in Xhosa, "*I swear she does this on purpose*".

"Oh, shit!" Sam yanked the earpiece out, which earned him a quizical look. "It's a translator! She made me a translator!"

"She-" T'challa looked a mix of shocked and pissed, which concerned Sam slightly. "She happens to like you quite a lot. I'm not surprised".

T'challa looked like he had more to say, but he kept silent. They approached the library, and as the doors swung open, Sam heard T'challa say "My mother, Queen Ramonda of Wakanda".

She didn't look much older than Sam's mom, but she was definitely about the same age. She had a kind smile, and kind eyes, and Sam felt extremely comfortable around her, almost at home. There was something about her that just put him at ease. Which, given the amount of stress he'd been under on he walk over here, was a good thing. He noticed that T'challa also visibly relaxed, which was probably a good thing.

"Good evening, your Majesty." Sam gave a little bow, because it didn't matter how comfortable he felt around the queen, his mama didn't raise him to forget his manners.

"Please, just call me Ramonda. I'm only technically queen because our king hasn't found himself a queen yet." Ramonda smiled at T'challa, who glanced away. "*or a prince consort, at least*".

"I was wondering about that." Sam nodded before realizing that Ramonda had said that in Xhosa and it therefore wasn't meant for him, a suspicion that was further cemented by the queen's shocked look. "Shuri made a translator for me. I have it in right now, I didn't mean to be rude".

"You weren't. It was rude of me to assume you couldn't understand, and attempt to exclude you from the conversation." Ramonda smiled, turning towards T'challa who was now clearly red in the face.

"Mother, I am certain that Samuel-" There was his name again, silky and perfect as always. "-is not interested in hearing about my preferences".

"Hey, I'm not gonna judge." Sam held up his hands in a form of surrender. "I'm gay as heck, I'm not going to tell you who you can or can't love".

"Ah. Such a nice boy." Ramonda said sweetly before turning to T'challa and continuing in Xhosa. "*You see what a nice boy he is? What's wrong with him, he's polite and sweet and you seem to like him-*"

"*Mother, he can understand you*." T'challa winced. Sam couldn't help but laugh at the other man's pained expression.

"*I'm aware of the fact. You'll thank your sister later, yes?*"

"Mother-"

"Yes or no?" Ramonda said sharply, giving T'challa what Sam's sister had once called "the eyebrow of death". T'challa cringed, then groaned out "fine".

"Good. That will be all, I simply wanted to meet him." Ramonda gave T'challa a hug, then touched his cheek before turning away. "I'm sure you have other things to do, *My little panther*".

T'challa spun on his heel and seemed to be trying his best not to run from the room in embarrassment, simultaneously failing and succeeding. Sam had to jog to catch up to him, and when he did, T'challa's face was dark and clouded.

"What was that all about?" Sam asked once T'challa remembered he had a guest. "If you don't mind me asking".

"I don't. The trouble is simply- I seem-" T'challa cut off, frustrated. "My mother believes I move too slow when it comes to my relationships".

"Oh." Sam thought about that, then shrugged. "I mean, you should go at whatever pace makes you comfortable. Rushing into things will leave you unhappy, and the relationship, no matter what it is, won't work out if you feel uncomfortable".

"What if the person I seek to- What if they won't wait for me?"

"Ditch 'em. No good relationship ever came from rushing. If they're really want you, they'll wait as long as you need. Both parties should be comfortable going in, especially at the beginning".

"Hm. You know a lot about this".

"I worked at the VA as a counselor for a few years. I should know a lot about this".

"What do you have to say about the fact that she seems to think you're a good match for me?" T'challa tried to pass it off as a joke, but his tense posture and wide eyes betrayed his true feelings; He wanted to know how Sam felt about him.

Sam went through several responses before deciding on "Can't say I'd mind. You're a good person, I think if you were ok with it I'd give it a shot".

T'challa froze, and despite all evidence to the contrary, Sam's first thought was that he messed up by saying that. Instead, T'challa took the translator out and rested his clenched fist on Sam's shoulder, looking him in the eye as he spoke in Xhosa. When he had finished, he dropped the translator into Sam's hand and turned towards the kitchen, walking away.

If the translator hadn't been covered up by T'challa's hand, Sam could have sworn he heard the words "Don't tease me".

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Pizza night" became a regular occurrence for Sam, Steve, Bucky, and T'challa, much to Sam's chagrin. The king had a wonderful sense of humor, but also plenty of tact, and he quickly won over Bucky and Steve both, in that order. He won over Bucky by being patient and not pushing Bucky's boundaries, and he won over Steve by cracking bad jokes and talking about what a pain in the ass super metabolism is. Surprisingly, it worked; both supersoldiers quickly warmed up to the king, and Sam had joked about how he wasn't sharing.

The last Pizza Night had been last night, and Sam was now sitting on the floor of Shuri's lab, gushing about T'challa in broken Xhosa. Shuri laughed and corrected some of his speaking, but he left the translator in mostly to see if he was saying things right.

The lab doors banged open, and the sudden onslaught of Xhosa overwhelmed Sam until he realized that it wasn't coming from Shuri.

"*Shuri! I can't do this anymore, please help!*" T'challa's normally smooth voice was wrought with anguish; he sounded genuinely distressed, and that worried Sam.

"Tell him yourself." Shuri responded in English, largely to be contrary, Sam suspected.

"*Shuri, please, I hold you dear in my heart and would gladly die for you, but I cannot tell him. If he takes it bad-*"

"You'll live".

"*Shuri, please. My heart cannot handle rejection so soon after Nakia. I need to know, but I can't ask*"

"You're so dramatic. Just tell him you like him! It's not like its hard!"

"*Oh, so it wasn't hard when you were telling-*"

"That's different! She was in the Dora Milaje and was much older than me and I knew she was going to say no! That was different!"

"*I'm sure*." T'challa slumped against the solid table, just around the corner from where Sam was sitting. "*I had another dream about him. I think... I think he's someone important*".

"If you like him, of course he's important! He's important to you! Besides, it's not like he can take it that hard, he's gay!"

That caught Sam's attention. They had clearly been talking about T'challa's crush, but given the information that said crush was gay, Sam allowed himself a sliver of hope. Was it possible they were talking about him?

...No. T'challa would have given some kind of hint. He was clearly more comfortable around Sam now, and that's why cracks in his armor were showing, but no one was that good at hiding their crush.

"*Shuri, I'm begging you. I can't take this, I can't hide it. My heart is going to burst*." T'challa begged, tears hanging in his voice.

"He likes it when you call him by his full name instead of his nickname, if that helps. It might get him flustered enough to confess." Shuri offered as she looked down at Sam, giving a sly wink.

"*He likes it when I call him Samuel?*" T'challa sounded eager, almost happy to hear that information, but Sam felt his face go hot and his blood run cold.

"Oh, you are talking about me." Sam muttered before he could stop himself. T'challa turned sharply, his panicked and teary eyes meeting Sam's understanding ones. Sam gave a weak smile before he stood sharply and all but ran for the bathroom, the panic in his system flooding his senses. He felt his breathing pick up as he walked away, tears spilling over as he shut the bathroom door and collapsed, his back firmly pressed against the door as he sobbed. The panic threatened to crush his airway, so Sam focused on his breaths, forcing himself to fill his lungs to their entirety before releasing.

Once he had gotten his breathing under control, he allowed himself to process. T'challa had a crush on him, and had for a while at this point. He was nervous and afraid of rejection, which is why he hadn't said anything or really reacted around Sam before now. And now that T'challa knew he knew...

Oh, Christ. He had run out of the room crying. He hadn't explained anything, he'd just left. T'challa probably hated himself right then, probably thought he'd done something wrong, or that Sam didn't like him. Oh, Jesus, he hadn't explained anything.

His hands were one his phone and dialing the last number he'd called before he even registered what was happening. He felt panic rise in his stomach as he brought the phone to his ear, the ringing tethering him to reality.

At the first "Hello?" Sam managed to choke out "I think I fucked up" before dissolving into tears, his sobs bursting out of him despite his best efforts to contain them.

In the time it took for the person on the other end(Who happened to be Bucky) to calm him down, Sam had explained his massive crush on the king of Wakanda, the fact that said crush was reciprocated, and the fact that he had a panic attack almost the second he realized that. Bucky walked him through what he was feeling, which was what he'd really needed, but he still felt horrible for ditching T'challa like that.

"You gotta tell him." Bucky said calmly. Sam nodded before remembering that Bucky couldn't see him through the phone.

"I know. I know, it was just a lot. I haven't felt like that since..."

Riley. He didn't say it, but he hadn't felt like that since he developed his crush on Riley. Riley had been straight, but Sam managed to tell him what he was feeling, and even though Riley turned him down, they stayed friends. It had taken a long time for those feelings to fade completely, but Sam hadn't let them get in the way of his friendship. Except... this was different. T'challa liked him back, and those were very different feelings than when he knew Riley was going to reject him. It almost hurt more, despite being good news.

"It's been a while since you've had to deal with the ickies of being in love, huh?" Bucky chuckled. "I told you Steve and I used to be a thing?"

That shocked Sam so completely he almost stopped crying entirely.

"I had not heard that, no".

"Yeah, well, we were. And that's why it hurt so bad when he fought me, because he wasn't just seeing a dead friend, he was seeing a dead romantic partner, and that can mess you up. It still sucks, because I know he wants more from me than I can give him right now. He's not pressuring me, but my memories are all back, and I know he's hurting for someone to hold. And I want that, I want it back, but I'm not ready. And that fucking hurts".

"So how does that help me?"

"Because the only thing holding you back now is indecision. He likes you, you like him, now, are you going to let it happen?"

Sam was surprised to not only find himself saying yes, but finding that he wanted it more strongly than any other romantic relationship he's ever wanted. It scared him, how deep in love he was.

"I want this." Sam said, and then more firmly, "I want this. I want him".

"Then I think you know what you have to do." Bucky gave what sounded like a smile, then hung up.

Sam did know what he had to do. Now, how was he going to go about it was the only question left.

Thirty minutes after his panic attack, Sam Wilson left the lab bathroom with a plan. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Excuse me, Shuri? I don't know if you're busy-" Sam stopped short when he saw T'challa standing over the lab table. Time to put his plan into action, he thought as he sauntered over to the table and gave Shuri a quick wink. "Hello, your Majesty".

T'challa remained focused on the holographic pop-up directly in front of him. Sam began to get worried. What if T'challa was angry at him? What if this didn't work?

Only one way to find out, he reminded himself. He turned towards the king, observing the screen. It was the upgrade sheet for the EXO-7 wings, which was even more perfect.

"Checking out my gear?" Sam asked innocently, catching the quick smirk that flashed across T'challa's face. So, he wasn't pissed. That was good. "I can give you an example of she does in action, if you want".

"I would very much like to see that." T'challa smiled at him before it quickly faded, as if he remembered last week's incident.

"Hey, bring it back!" Sam protested, elbowing T'challa lightly. "I like your smile".

Sam pointedly ignored the sound of Shuri dropping a tray of samples in favor of seeing T'challa smile again, the words "Thank you" ghosting over his lips. Neither one of them spoke for a while after that, favoring silence instead.

"I believe we should speak of what happened last week." T'challa said at the same time Sam spat out "7 goddamn months".

"I'm beg your pardon?" T'challa gave Sam a confused look, tilting his head in that fucking adorable way he did sometimes.

"I've been crushing on you for seven. Goddamn. Months." Sam repeats, looking T'challa in the eye as he says it. "I kept thinking 'I should drop it, he's given no signs that he's even close to interested', but I didn't, and you're damn lucky for it".

"You-" T'challa looked like he was going to cry. "You have the same feelings for me I have for you?"

"Yes, I just said that, didn't I?" Sam rolled his eyes and flashed a sly smile. "Unless you don't want me to?"

"No! I mean, yes! I mean... how do I answer this question?"

"I believe the right answer is, 'Why the frak did you freak out on me?" but I'll settle for 'yes, I want to be your boyfriend'. Or companion, or whatever the heck they call it here".

"I- Why did you 'freak out on me'?"

"It was a lot of feelings and my initial reaction to lots of feelings is get 'somewhere you can process'. It was a huge relief to hear you say those words, and I think it messed with me because I hadn't felt a release of emotions like that for a while. I don't normally crush on people for 7 months straight".

"I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to upset you".

"No, this wasn't your fault. Although, you could have stood to say something sooner. We probably could have avoided that if either one of us had just sucked it up and said something".

"I'm not terribly good at this, am I?" T'challa gave a self-depreciating smile, and Sam intended to put a stop to it right there.

"Nope. But then again, I'm not either." Sam smiled, then drew T'challa into a hug. "So since we're being honest, I gotta say that it's a huge turn on when you speak Xhosa".

Sam could hear T'challa smile as he leaned down and whispered "*Like this?*", and Sam had to restrain himself from slapping the king. Instead, he opted to press his dick against T'challa's leg, which earned him a squawk on his majesty's part.

"That answer enough for you?" Sam chuckled, his eyes meeting the dark brown orbs of his lover's. T'challa gave a smile, a smile Sam had never seen before, and it took him a moment to realize that it was contentment.

"Well, then, Samuel, I suppose it is".

Sam had to spend twenty minutes in the bathroom after that conversation calming himself down.

To be fair, it would have been faster if T'challa hadn't come with him.


End file.
